By Olasunkanmi Akoni and Shekinah Ijile
The Federal Government and Lagos State Government have agreed to establish joint committees to coordinate interventions aimed at improving electricity supply and working towards 24-hour power availability in Lagos.
The decision was reached on Monday at the Ministerial Implementation Retreat on the Clean Lagos Electricity Market (CLEM), held at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Marina.
Speaking at the retreat, Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said Lagos had been selected as a pilot for an approach that would later be extended to other major energy corridors across the country.
Tegbe said the Federal Government was focusing on three major energy zones — the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor and Enugu-Port Harcourt axis — as part of efforts to address electricity supply challenges.
He noted that the Lagos axis alone accounts for between 40 and 50 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity demand, making it a strategic starting point for efforts to improve supply.
The minister said the retreat examined issues around market structure, regulation, technical requirements and operations, with discussions covering immediate, medium-term and long-term measures.
“We came with pragmatic solutions. Some of them are going to take action immediately, quick wins, some of them. I believe that Nigerians will start to see some differences in Lagos axis as far as power supply is actually manifested,” Tegbe said.
He announced that a Joint Technical Working Committee would be constituted and co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and the Managing Director of the Lagos State Independent System Operator (LAISO).
The committee will include representatives of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Federal Ministry of Power, LAISO and Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC), among other relevant institutions.
Tegbe also announced the creation of a Steering Committee to supervise implementation of the agreed measures, with Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as chairman and the minister as co-chairman.
Other members will include the Special Adviser on Power, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power and the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy, Biodun Ogunleye.
According to the minister, the committees would work towards delivering improved electricity supply to consumers in the identified energy corridors, beginning with Lagos before extending the approach to Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt.
Sanwo-Olu, who also addressed the retreat, described the engagement as productive, noting that it brought together senior officials from the Federal Government and Lagos State for nearly four hours of discussions.
The governor said the discussions were “very frank” and focused on the major challenges affecting electricity supply, as well as possible solutions.
According to him, participants identified several “low-hanging fruits” that could be implemented relatively quickly, with the expectation that electricity consumers would begin to notice improvements.
Sanwo-Olu expressed confidence that the new Steering Committee would help accelerate implementation of the measures agreed at the retreat.
He said the initiative marked the beginning of efforts to realise President Bola Tinubu’s vision of achieving 24-hour electricity supply, stressing that the objective should eventually extend beyond Lagos to other parts of Nigeria.
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